


To Fix What I've Broken

by Riellebratt



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-11
Updated: 2018-07-12
Packaged: 2019-06-09 00:30:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15255420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Riellebratt/pseuds/Riellebratt
Summary: Regina asks Emma out on a date and doesn't quite get the reaction she hoped for.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is definitely not Canon and would be approximately a few months after their return from the Enchanted Forest. No one is after them, no monsters invade the town and definitely no Robin, and no Hook. Things are back to the way they once were, a normal little town with magic and Rumple as the Dark One. A curse is still in effect as only Emma, Regina and Henry can cross the town line. 
> 
> This one is for Jokersmile as it was her suggestion to listen to a song and make it a SwanQueen story. The song is, 'You Are the Reason', but I only took one line from it for inspiration. I hope you enjoy it, please leave comments as they're always appreciated. Thank you!

** To Fix What I've Broken **

 

 

Emma couldn't stop laughing, she even snorted, "Oh Regina that's a good one." Emma choked out as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "Who put you up to this? Ruby? Oh wait, Granny right?"

 

Regina stiffened at the reaction the blonde had of her asking her out on a date.  She knew she shouldn't have listened to the people of this town nor to, dare she think it, her heart. 

 

They’d been growing closer the past couple of months with the daily lunches and dinners at both the mansion and Emma's new home; she thought things were progressing to more than just friendship. The almost kiss last week was what prompted her to listen to everyone and put herself into this position she now finds herself in. Was it even an almost kiss? Seeing the way the Sheriff is behaving, Regina can see how wrong she really was.

 

"I see things never change with you Miss Swan, everything is a joke." Regina said with bite to her words. She was upset and she didn't want anyone to see her cry, "I'll take that as a no, Miss Swan, goodbye."  And with that, she turned and walked away.

 

Emma looked up and saw Regina walking away. "Ah c'mon Regina, don't go! Regina! Regina?"

Seeing a puff of purple smoke, she realized Regina was long gone now, feeling badly she went back into the Diner.

 

"Emma! What did you say? When's the date?" Ruby called out as Emma came through the door.

 

"Um what? She...Regina? What?"  Emma stuttered out to the waitress," Y'mean she was serious?"

 

"What do you mean was she serious? What did you do?"  Ruby asked with shock. "Please don't tell me you screwed that up."

 

"I...I...kind of laughed at her." Emma said solemnly now realizing she had probably hurt Regina with her actions.

 

"YOU WHAT?" a chorus was heard from the Diner's patrons and Granny who came out from the kitchen.

 

"I...I thought she was joking I thought you guys put her up to it. I... oh fuck me..."

 

"How could you laugh at her?" Granny asked hitting the blonde in the arm. "Do you know how hard it was to convince her it would be a good thing to ask you out? What the hell is wrong with you, girl?"

 

Emma quietly looked around the Diner, wondering how many were in on it and how long had Regina been thinking about it? "Oh fuck."

 

~~~~~~~~~~

 

Regina transported herself back to her office where Kathryn was sitting at the desk.  "Hey how did it... What happened?"  Kathryn asked worried for her friend as she took in her appearance.

 

Regina only shook her head as she went over to the mini bar and poured out a drink but she didn’t pick up the glass.

 

"Regina, what happened? Are you all right?"

 

Regina wiped away the stray tear that managed to escape and roll half way down her cheek. "I shouldn't have listened to you, any of you! She laughed; she just stood there and laughed at me. Was this a joke that everyone was in on? Kathryn, did they do this to get back at me or to...to..."

 

"What? No Regina, no, we all want you two to be together. We didn't do this to hurt or embarrass you." Kathryn said as she put her arms around her friend. "I guess when you call her an idiot you aren't wrong."

 

Breaking away from the hug, Regina wiped away another stray tear, she didn't want to cry over this, over Emma, but here she was doing just that. "Th...thank you Kathryn, would it be all right if I went  home? We can go over the budget tomorrow. I know you wanted to get the day to day mayoral duties but I just need to go home."

 

"Of course Regina, that’s fine. I'll stay and go over the things you've shown me earlier, and I'll see you tomorrow." Kathryn replied as she patted her friend's shoulder. “Go home, have a glass of wine and a nice long soak in the tub. You'll feel better and then you and Emma can talk when she pulls her head out of her ass."

 

Smiling at her friend and soon to be replacement until the next election, Regina grabbed a folder off the desk. "Thank you Kathryn, I'll see you tomorrow."  Regina said then grabbed her purse and left the office for home. Getting into her car, she started for the mansion but changed her mind and decided she needed a change of scenery and went over to Michael Stillman’s mechanic shop to check on an old faithful friend.

 

Emma made her way back to the Sheriff's station feeling sick to her stomach. How could she have thought Regina was joking and then laughed at her? "Why the hell did I do that?" She said to no one. Plopping down into her chair, she cradled her head in her hands, "what have I done?"

 

David and Snow walked in at lunch time to visit their daughter and to find out about the upcoming date with Regina. As they walk into the office, they see Emma scribbling on a pad of paper then ripping it off the pad, balling it up and throwing it towards the waste paper basket. Looking at the floor it seemed she'd been doing this for a while now.

 

"Emma honey, what are you doing?" Snow asked as she sat down next to her daughter. David moved around the desk and started picking up the paper balls all over the floor.

 

Emma looked up at her mom and then over to her dad, "I screwed up and I'm trying to make it right." She said then started writing again only to stop mid-sentence to tear the page from the pad, ball it up and throw it towards the trash this time hitting her father. She sighed and put pen to paper again.

 

  
"Emma,” Snow said then reached out to stop her from writing. "Honey, what have you screwed up, what are you trying to write?"

 

"I need to fix what I did, I...I laughed at Regina. I...I thought she was joking. She's never gonna talk to me again!"

 

"You laughed at Regina when she asked you out?" Snow shrieked. "Oh, my God! What did she do? What did she say?"

 

"How did you know what she asked me? Did you guys know? What the hell?" Emma yelled as she stood up slamming her chair back against the wall.

 

"To be honest, we all thought you two were already dating but one day at the Diner, Henry told us that you weren't and Regina overheard and well we thought she should ask you out. So we sort of convinced her. No one can convince Regina of anything, but we steered her in the direction. I think Henry helped more with that at home." Snow rambled on making Emma feel worse than before.

 

"I figured she would ask you over your daily lunch dates." David stated as he put the last rolled up bit of paper in the trash can.

 

"Lunch...dates." Emma repeated then shook her head, "I need to get out of here. I'm going out on patrol. I can't be here right now."

 

"Emma, just wait…” Snow called to her daughter. After hearing the outer door slam closed, Snow walked over to the trash can and picked out a paper ball and unravels it and reads,

 

**_'Regina, I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry.'_ **

 

"Poor Regina, she must be crushed." Snow said to David as she handed him the paper.

 

"Crushed or extremely angry," David said to his wife. "This may not be a good thing for Emma or the town."

 

~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Henry rushed into the house and slammed the door shut behind him, "Mom! Mom, are you here?"  Hearing nothing, he went into the kitchen, then to the study, then upstairs to his Mother's bedroom. "Mom, are you in there?"

 

"Henry? Yes I'm in the bath; I'll be out in a minute, is everything all right?"

 

"Uh yeah everything is okay; take your time I'll be in the kitchen."

 

A short while later, Regina dressed in dark grey yoga pants and a blue t-shirt walked into the kitchen finding Henry waiting on the kitchen stool, eating a snack. "Good afternoon My Prince, how was your last day of school?"

 

"Fine, Mom. But how was **_your_** day? I...I stopped at the Diner and Ruby said things didn't go well this morning with Ma." Henry asked sheepishly, knowing his Mom wouldn't like that people were talking about her.

 

With a huff, she walked over to the refrigerator and started to pull things out to make dinner. "As you already know, Emma thought I was joking about going on a date. Which makes me correct that she does not have feelings towards me except for friendship. I knew I shouldn't have listened to all of you.  It won't happen again, that I can assure you."

 

"C'mon Mom, you know what she's like." Henry said as he got up and started rinsing the lettuce for the salad.

 

"Please Henry; I don’t want to talk about it."

 

"Did she at least call or try to talk to you?" He asked looking at his Mom.

 

"Henry, no more please.  I came home early and I have dealt with it in my own way. I don't need Emma to call or try and talk to me I don't really want to hear what she has to say."

 

"Okay Mom, I'm sorry. I'll talk to h...” He started to say but his mom cut him off.

 

"No, No Henry I mean it. Let this go. I don't want any operations, talks, or anything. Do you understand? Please respect my wishes; can you do that for me?"

 

"Yeah, I can do that." He said quietly.

 

"Promise me, Henry. Promise me that you or any of the fools at that Diner, your grandparents, anyone will not interfere or drag out this ridiculous idea that your mother and I should date. It's over. Will you promise me?"  Regina asked her son.

 

Henry really looked at his mom for the first time since she came downstairs, he could see that she had been crying before. He felt bad because he was the main instigator for her to ask Emma out. And now she was asking him to promise something he didn’t want to do. But seeing her look so sad and down in the dumps, he couldn’t say no to her.

 

"I promise, Mom. I just wanted you to be happy, Emma seemed to do that, and you made her happy too. I'm sorry it didn't work out today and I still believe that you two should be together but I won't try or say anything to Emma."

 

Regina reached over and pulled her son into a hug. "Thank you Sweetheart, I know you were trying to help but maybe leave my love life or lack thereof to me. Okay?"

 

"Okay Mom, I love you, y'know that right? I just feel bad that you're alone."

 

"That's just it, Henry. I'm not. I have you, you are my life, and I love you so very, very much." Regina replied then kissed his forehead. "Okay we need to get this dinner going or we'll have to order out."

 

Seeing the gleam in his eyes, "No we are not ordering out young man, you can do that with Emma." Regina retorted and started chopping the vegetables while the chicken was cooking. "Speaking of, when you are at Emma's next week, I may go away for a couple of days."

 

"Go away? Where are you going and for how long?"

 

Chuckling at her son, she went back to the refrigerator and pulled out the fresh garlic and ginger. "I am planning on going to the cabin, the one I used to take you to when you were younger."

 

"Oh, wow I totally forgot about that place. It's been a long time..." Henry recalled and then remembered he had learned he was adopted and didn't like his Mother and they stopped going to the cabin, they stopped doing a lot of things. “I’m sorry, we stopped going because of me. I was really terrible towards you back then." Henry said looking down.

 

Reaching out she lifted his chin for him to look at her. "Hey it’s okay, I'm going to see how bad it may be from lack of use. I went over to Michael's this afternoon to check on the jeep. He's kept it in working order and it’s ready to go." Regina explained as she stirred the vegetables into the chicken.

 

"He's going to accompany me the first day to see if the 4-wheeler is working. He may have to bring it back to fix it up because I’m sure after sitting that long it won’t run. Once I get things cleared up and inhabitable you and I can go up for a weekend or longer if you would like that?"

 

 "I would love that and I bet..." Henry stopped himself as he was going to say Emma would love it too. "I bet we'll have a great time. And I'm sure now that I'm older I can maybe go on the 4-wheeler by myself?"

 

Knowing what he was going to say, Regina was glad for the back pedal and quick switch to maneuvering his way into driving alone. "We'll see young man. Now can you start the rice for me?"


	2. Chapter 2

Regina and Emma hadn't really spoken since the morning of the 'incident' as Snow called it and Emma was going crazy not knowing how Regina was doing. The day after she ‘laughed’, Emma brought over lunch but Regina refused, implying that she and Kathryn had a lot to go over and they had already ordered their lunch from the Italian place on the other side of town.  The mayor also made it very clear that she would be too busy for their daily lunches from now on, again using Kathryn's training as the excuse.

 

Emma let it go until Sunday when they usually have their family dinner and Henry would go home with her for the following week. Regina had texted Emma that morning letting her know that she would be busy with other things and would not be available for dinner and the next few days as well as periodically being out of range for any texts or phone messages.

 

The last bit didn't make sense to Emma so she went over to the mansion Sunday afternoon and knocked on the door. She knew that Regina was home because the Mercedes was in the driveway. She knocked and knocked then went around the side, seeing no one she called The Mayor's phone with no answer.

"I know you're in there Regina, please can we talk? Let me explain? Regina?"

 

"Ahem," The nosy neighbour from the house next door was standing at the end of the walkway. "I'm afraid Mayor Mills isn’t at home."

 

"Oh yeah? And how do you know that? Her car is right here she doesn't go very far without it." Emma asked a little annoyed to be caught begging outside of Regina's house.

 

"Well she and Mr. Tillman set out with her jeep and his tow truck early this morning. So she went quite far without her car. I just wanted to let you know so you wouldn't bang on the door all afternoon and interrupt my nap. Good day Sherriff."

 

"Jeep? Regina owns a jeep? Hey wait a minute." Emma yelled out to the elderly lady and ran after her. "Mrs. Hubbard!" 'Jeez for an old lady she sure can move.' Emma thought to herself when she caught up. "Mrs. Hubbard. Did you say that Regina has a jeep? Where did they go?"

 

She sighed at the Sherriff's incessant need to know everything, “Yes, she's had a jeep for as long as I can remember and used to use it when Henry was a wee lad. She also has one of those motorbike contraptions as well. I was very glad when she stopped riding that. And to answer your question of where did they go? I have no idea nor do I care. Good day Sheriff." And with that, the old woman continued to walk back to her house.

 

"She has a jeep and a motorcycle. How the hell did I not know that?" Emma wondered aloud as she walked back to her car. She needed to find Henry and ask him where his mother is for the umpteenth time but this time he's going to tell her.

 

~~~~~~~~~~

"So what are we going to do about SwanQueen?" Ruby asked the ten plus patrons in the Diner. It's Sunday afternoon and a little quiet at the Diner. Those who were there for the original "convince the Mayor to ask out the Sheriff" conversation have gathered again to "convince Regina to accept the Emma as the idiot she is and go on the proverbial date" conversation.

 

"I'm telling you Mom doesn't want this anymore. She made me promise not to push this or let you guys do something else. No operations, no naming them SwanQueen, which is really good by the way, Ruby.” He said then continued, “She said she's putting this behind her and moving on. Please let her do this. I can't and won't break my promise to her. I think she's been through enough lately."

 

"Hey it's okay Henry, we know about your promise and we won't do anything that would have you break it." Snow said to her grandson as she pulled him into a one arm hug.

 

"Thanks but it goes for all of us not just me."

 

"We know," the chorus of patrons, including Leroy, Kathryn, Nova even the Blue Fairy, said in unison.

 

Henry gave them a look that clearly proved he was definitely the Mayor's son. He slid out of the booth and told his grandparents, "I'm going over to the park with the guys and I hope that no one tries anything that will get them into serious trouble with Mom. But good luck in whatever you come up with."

 

After leaving the Diner he makes his way over to the park where Paige and a few of his friends are playing soccer.  Just as he's about to cross the street, he sees the yellow bug coming towards him.

 

Emma pulled over to the side when she sees Henry. She put the bug in park, got out and called to her son.

 

"Henry my boy, c'mere I wanna talk to you."

 

Sighing, he slowly walked towards Emma, knowing full well she's going ask about his Mom and he can't tell her what she wants to know. 'I hate being the go-between with these two' he muttered to himself.

 

"Hey Emma, what's up?" He asked. He had stopped calling her Ma after he heard that she laughed at his Mom and hurt her feelings.

 

"I was just wondering where Regina would go with Michael Tillman in her jeep?" Emma asked with her arms crossed in front of her and a raised eyebrow as if she were interrogating a perp.

 

Rolling his eyes, he could see Emma was proud of herself that she was able to find out information about his Mom but he wasn't giving in. He was still a little mad at her so he didn't bite at the information she now had. Shrugging he replied, "Maybe they went out on a date."

 

"Oh hey Kid, that was a low blow." Emma said a little upset with her son. "I just wanted to know where she is, y'know in case there's an emergency or something."

 

"Sorry. But you know that she has things in place for emergencies when she's away. And if she wanted you to know where she was, she would have told you. I'm sorry but I can't tell you." Henry replied getting tired of this and just wanting to go hangout with his friends.

 

Knowing that she' had been pushing Henry she can understand his poor attitude. So she dropped her questions and took a step back putting her hands in her back jeans pockets. "Sorry, I'm just worried about her and wanted to talk to her and apologize."

 

"I know and I'm sorry for being a shit, but she wants time and space. She'll talk to you when she's ready." He said as he moved closer to her, "You really hurt her Emma so just let her have this time away or whatever it is that she needs. I know you want to fix this and I want that too because I really don't like being in the middle like this."

 

"I know Henry, I'm sorry. I'll ease off. I'll wait until she's back. She is coming back right? I mean you're here so yeah she's coming back." Emma said with confusion written all over her face.

 

"Yeah she'll be back. So can I go hang out with my friends now?"

 

"OH! Yeah! Sorry, Henry. Go on, I'll see you later at the Diner for dinner, yeah?"

 

"Sure I'll see you later." Henry replied then turned to cross the street towards the park but then turned back to give Emma a hug, "Things will turn out all right. Just give her time."

 

"Th...Thanks." She said then let him go and watched him cross the street to be with his friends.

 

~~~~~~~~~~

 

Emma did as she said and left Henry alone; she impatiently waited until she saw Regina in town again a couple of days later. Not wasting a moment, she went straight over to the mansion and knocked on the door.

 

Regina opened the door dressed more casual then Emma had ever seen her and she liked it, she liked it a lot.

 

"Hey, welcome back." Emma greeted finally finding her voice.

 

"Thank you." Regina replied feeling a little exposed. She only arrived back home less than an hour ago. She hadn't had time to shower and change from the cabin. "Is there something you wanted?"

 

"Um, well I...I really wanted to talk to you, to apologize and stuff and um...can I...come in?" Emma asked frowning at her inability to talk properly.

 

"Miss...Emma, I've only just arrived home, I haven't had time to clean up and change." Regina replied looking down at her attire then back to the Sherriff.

 

"Oh, well yeah I...sorry, I can wait or come back if you want."

 

"I'm not sure what there is to talk about Emma. I just want to move on from the whole embarrassing debacle. Why keep rehashing it?"

 

"I just wanted to explain and apologize." Emma said, hoping the brunette will let her in.

 

"I really don't want to talk about it any further, Emma please."

 

Looking down at her boots, Emma ran a hand through her hair, "Um, yeah of course, I'm sorry for bothering you. I'll leave you to it."

 

"Emma," Regina started but changed her mind with what she was actually going to say and instead said, "I'll see you this Sunday night for dinner?"

 

"Yeah? Um yeah sure I'll bring Henry over at six." Emma said with a small smile. "I'll see you then."

 

~~~~~~~~~~

 

It had been a few weeks since Emma made an ass of herself and even though the lunches had ceased, the Sunday night dinners continued but they weren’t the same. The conversation was lacking and stilted but Emma tried to make things light, getting the Mayor to laugh but it was never the genuine laugh she had grown accustomed to.

 

She never realized how much she missed Regina's smile. She remembered the first time she saw it and how she was the cause of it. She lit up the room and Emma's heart. She never really put much thought into it at the time but now it hurt because it was gone and the smiles seem to be for others and no longer for Emma.

 

Emma sat on the bench near the docks where she and Regina would come to talk and eat ice cream. Emma saw it as their bench at one time. If something was bothering her, she would come here and it wouldn't be long before Regina would show up as if she knew Emma needed her.

 

She wasn't sure how long she had been sitting there with her head in her hands but she heard footsteps approaching and with wishful thinking, she looked up however it wasn’t Regina walking towards her but Ruby. She should have known though, Regina was "away" again and she didn't know where or with who.

 

"Hey Em, can I have a seat?"

 

"Hi Rubes, of course sit down. What's up?"

 

"I was wondering the same with you.  Are you all right?"  Ruby asked then pulled out a flask from the inside pocket of her jacket and handed it over to Emma. "You look like you could use a drink."

 

Chuckling at her friend, she took the flask and took a large sip, then coughed and sputtered at the strong taste. "What the hell is that?"

 

Laughing at Emma, Ruby took the flask and took a long drink, "Mmmm that's good stuff Emma! I only bring it out on special occasions or emergencies. It's Granny's homebrew."

 

"Holy shit, that stuff is strong." Emma said as she shook her head and laughed at her friend drinking it as if it's water. "So what's the special occasion?"

 

"There isn't one; it's more of an emergency. You seem to need it." Ruby said as she put her arm around the blonde. "I know you still haven't gotten over the Regina thing and I thought you might need a friend and a strong drink."

 

"You're right, I haven't, and I can't get past it and I don't know why. Regina seems to have gotten over it pretty quickly though."

 

 Ruby was confused with her last statement. “What do you mean by that?"

 

"I mean she leaves and goes off somewhere for days and when she comes back she seems happy and whatever, she must be seeing someone." Emma snarled as she stood up and leaned against the railing. "I know Stillman is a nice guy and everything but it wasn't long ago he hated her and wanted her dead. I mean most of the people here seem to be infatuated with her now or in love with her or something."

 

"Oh my God, Emma! What are you saying? You think Regina is dating Mike Stillman?" Ruby doubled over with laughter. After a moment, she straightened up and wiped the tears from her eyes. "You are so off base Emma."

 

"What? He goes off with her wherever it is she goes and even Henry has been going to the shop lately. What else could it be?"

 

"Look the year you were away in New York and we were in the Enchanted Forest, Regina did amazing things and helped so many. The people of the town here finally saw who she really is, not the Evil Queen they lived with all those years but the real Regina." Ruby started to explain.

 

"She was our saviour there and she saved a lot of people including your father.  We're all here in this world back safe and sound because of her and between the two of you; we are safe here in Maine as well." Ruby explained still sitting on the bench. "Michael lost his kids during that time and Regina spent every moment getting them back. He's forgiven her, most everyone forgave her completely, knowing full well, it was Rumple who did all this and if it weren't for him and his manipulative ways, Regina would have always been the warm, caring, and loving person she is now." Ruby continued as she got up and stood next to Emma not looking at her but staring out into the harbour.

 

"Why do you even care?" Ruby asked after a few moments of silence. A question she'd been dying to ask now for days. She knew Emma cared for Regina more than she lets on. "I mean she asked you out, and we all know how you reacted so you don't seem to care about her in that way. So what's it to you if she does start seeing someone else? Don't you want her to be happy?"

 

"Of course I do, Ruby. That's all I want for her!"

 

"Then what is it? Why are you acting like this?"  Ruby kept pushing hoping the blonde would finally come to her senses.

 

"Because it hurts, it hurts to see her laughing, really laughing with other people and not with me. It hurts that she'll go to lunch with Kathryn or Michael or even one of the dwarfs but not me." Emma revealed as she grabbed the railing and looked up to the sky. "It hurts because I do want to go on a date with her and she hardly ever looks at me anymore. I screwed up Ruby and I can't fix it. She won't let me."

 

"You can't always fix things, Emma.  At least not in the way you think you can."

 

"What does that even mean? The way I think I can."

 

"Going around moping and being jealous at anyone she smiles at is not the way you're going to get your woman." Ruby said smiling as she saw the expression on the other woman's face. "We both know you have it bad for her."

 

"Yeah you're right, I do and I've always have. I was so stupid that day, Ruby. I was afraid, y'know? I wanted to say yes to her but I couldn't! I don't know what possessed me to laugh but I was kicking myself then and have been ever since." Emma said finally revealing how she felt about Regina. "I really didn't see it as love at the time, I just really enjoyed being in her company. I missed her when she was working or at a meeting, it’s how the daily lunches began, I had this difficult time not being near her."

 

"I've tried to explain this all to her but she doesn't want to hear it. And I've been trying to respect her wishes on it but it's so hard because I do love her, God so much and she barely sees me as a friend anymore. "

 

"Maybe you need to get her to notice you again, there must have been something she saw in you to agree with us and ask you out in the first place. Show her that Emma again and maybe she'll ask you out and this time say yes!" Ruby told her.

 

"How the hell am I going to do that? I don't know what she saw in me before, what did she tell you guys? I mean how did you convince her to ask me out in the first place? She listens to no one."

 

"Just be you, Emma. Not this dopey mopey, jealous fool you've become." Ruby suggested.

 

"Hey, I'm not that bad! Okay maybe. But Hey! Did you just call me a dwarf?"

 

She rolled her eyes at the blonde then took Emma’s hand and tried to explain. "Find a way to get her back. Be sweet, kind and friendly but do not push. Just be there. Be you."

 

"But didn't being me get me into this predicament in the first place?"

 

"Yes, yes it did but you got to start somewhere so just be you, the normal you and see where it takes you." Ruby said, “Best case scenario you end up on a date, worst case she laughs in your face.”

 

“Ha.” Emma said to her friend, “But thanks Ruby. I’ll do what I can.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the comments and the kudos, I truly appreciated it.

With days spent less in the office and more at the house and now the cabin in the forest on the edge of Storybrooke, Regina felt lighter and freer from the weight she’d carried with her for over 30 years. The stress and worry can take a toll on one's body and mind and Regina had grown tired of it and put into plan to step down as acting Mayor and retire to do things she'd never been able to do. 

 

Her only wish is that all the citizens in Storybrooke could come and go as they pleased. Before the curse was broken, keeping the town invisible was key but now, now it's just a shame that the people still can't leave and if she knew how, she would change it so they all could see what this world had to offer. She'd grown fond of the folks of Storybrooke, but she would never admit it to anyone. She just hoped that they could see it in her actions and not just her words.

 

In a couple of years, Henry would leave for college and if the town was being taken care of by someone she trusted then she knew she could leave as well. Oh, she wouldn't leave for good, this town was her creation, and it would always hold a special place in her heart. But to get away, travel, and see the world is what she wanted to do. Of course sharing that with someone would have been ideal but it seemed it's not in the cards she was dealt and she’s fine with that. She meant what she said to Henry, that she has him in her life, and his love gets her through. It's enough for now; at least that’s what she is going with.

 

She wiped her brow, got up from her garden, and put away her gardening tools. She was headed towards the back patio when she heard the doorbell in the distance.  She came around the side of the house and saw Emma standing there with her back to the door.

 

"Emma? Is everything all right? Is it Henry?"

 

"Hey Regina, everything is fine, Henry is with Ava and Nick at the park. I just popped over to give you this." Emma replied as she produced a bag and handed it over to Regina. "I was at Granny's and she had that strawberry puff pastry you like. Freshly made and I thought you might like one as an afternoon treat."

 

Regina took the bag and looked inside, then looked back at Emma, "Thank you, that was... very thoughtful of you, and perfect timing, I just finished in the garden out back." Regina noticed there was only one pastry in the bag. "Would you like to come in and share it with a coffee?"

 

"Thanks but no, I bought that for you. I hope you enjoy it, Regina. Have a good day." Emma said then turned and walked down the pathway and through the Mayor's gate.

 

Regina stared after Emma even when she could no longer see her. Shaking her head, she turned around and walked back to the patio. She removed her muddy gardening shoes and put on her indoor shoes. She gently placed the bag on the counter, removed the pastry, and began making herself a cup of tea.  Emma was right she did love these pastries but she never told anyone that. Emma knew though, she seems to always know things that no one else does.

 

She realized that Emma had been doing a lot of nice things for her lately. Even though she's not at the office as much, the days she is Emma always brings her lunch but leaves it with the receptionist and doesn't barge her way in or even try to anymore. Emma even pre-bought her coffee for a week at Granny's when she would go in before work or before heading to the cabin.

 

The Sunday night dinners were difficult at first but they seem to be getting better and more enjoyable, almost as they once were before that dreadful lapse of judgement. It seemed Emma had finally moved on from her consistent need to apologize over and over and it had been...nice.

 

Taking a deep breath, Regina smiled as she took a bite of the strawberry decadence drizzled with chocolate. Knowing a lady would have put it on a plate and used a fork but it was too good for that. A little moan escaped her lips as the flavours burst in her mouth. "Soooo good," she said with her mouth full. After a sip of her tea, she chuckled, imagining Henry's face if he ever saw her talking with food in her mouth. "What he doesn't know won't hurt him," then she popped the last bite into her mouth, savouring every last bit.

 

The next day, Regina arrives at Granny's mid-afternoon to place an order during her break on the one day a week she went into the office to assist Kathryn with things, which she will do until the new mayor is elected come fall. "Good afternoon Ruby."

 

"Good afternoon Mayor Mills, what can I get you, the regular?"

 

"Well first of all it's no longer Mayor, it's just Regina from now on. And I would like to order my regular plus a hot chocolate with cinnamon and whipped cream and two bear claws to go please."

 

Ruby raised her eyebrow at the order but only smirked when she turned away to get the order ready.

"So how's it going now that you have more time to yourself, Mayor...Regina? Wow that's going to be hard to get used to."

 

Regina chuckled at the younger woman then settled onto the stool as she waited for her order. She had always liked Red and even though she sided with Snow, she never allowed anyone in her kingdom to hurt or hunt wolves and had always given them sanctuary if needed.  Red or Ruby as she liked to be called here was always a little crass but she had a huge heart and that endeared her to Regina from the beginning.

 

"Very well, thank you. It's nice to do the things I've been neglecting and just having time for myself. It's wonderful really."

 

"I'm happy for you, Regina; you deserve to do the things that make you happy."  Ruby said as she placed the order on the counter.

 

"Thank you Ruby," Regina replied with a shy smile. Leaving the money on the counter she took the bag with the bear claws and the cup tray and left.

 

~~~~~~~~~~

 

"Are you kidding me? Why would she throw a party now?"  Emma asked her father frustrated that her mother has taken upon herself to throw an event for the town because it'd been so quiet with no one or nothing threatening them. "You realize she's going to jinx things and the day of the party some huge ass ogre will pop into town and set it all on fire!"

 

David laughed at his daughter's tirade, and then threw a mini basketball at her head. "She just wants to do something for the town. Yes, it's been quiet but it's the start of the summer and she just wants the townspeople to have fun. What's wrong with that?"

 

Emma caught the ball before it hit her and threw it into the small net set up next to the clock on the wall. "Does she even have authority to throw this so called party?" She asked then stopped and sat up straight when she heard a sound she had missed for a long time. The staccato beat of high heels on the marble floors echoing down the hallway.

 

"Good afternoon, Charming, Emma." Regina greeted as she walked through the door.

 

"Good afternoon, Regina." David quickly replied seeing that his daughter was just staring at the woman.

 

"Uh hey, Regina, what brings you here? Not that you aren't allowed or supposed to be here now that you're no longer...y'know what, I'm going to shut up now." Emma sputtered then shook her head in disbelief.

 

Regina gave Emma one of her infamous eye brow raises then looked over to David, "Is she all right?"

 

Laughing a little, he shook his head, "she's just a little upset that her mother is throwing the annual summer festival and she doesn't want to go."

 

"Uh hi I'm over here guys. And it's not that I don't want to go, it's just I'll have to hire people to work it and spend more time stopping drunken fights and puke in the car than I’ll actually spend enjoying it." Emma said to them.

 

"Mmm, sounds glorious. And I'm glad that I do not have to partake in any of the organization this year. OH, this is for you, Emma." Regina said as she realized she was still holding the cardboard cup holder with the hot chocolate and bear claws. "I'm sorry David, I didn't realize you were here or I would have brought you something as well, though there are two pastries in there, if your daughter was inclined to share."

 

"Thank you Regina but I'm fine, I just dropped in to let Emma know about her mother's next endeavor. And I should be off; I'll be back later for my shift Emma."  David said as he got up, walked over to his daughter, and gave her a kiss on the head, "It was nice to see you Regina, take care."

 

After David left, the two women seemed to be lost in what to say to one another until Emma moaned with a mouthful of bear claw. "Mmm this is so good, thank you Regina."

 

"You're very welcome, Emma. It's the least I can do after bringing me the strawberry treat yesterday."

 

"Well you didn't have to repay me but damn I'm glad that you did." Emma replied then took another bite of the sugary delight and moaned her appreciation.

 

Clearly uncomfortable with the sounds the blonde was making, Regina tried to get her talking. “So, Sherriff what is the real reason that you do not want your mother to throw the festival, hmm?"

 

Before Emma could reply, they turned towards the doorway when they heard the telltale sign that their son was running down the hallway.

 

"Mom! What are you doing here?" the boy asked as he went over to give the brunette a hug then looked over to his other mother. "Hey Emma what's in the bag?"

 

"Absolutely nothing, nope, nothing at all," She replied as she grabbed it, tossed it quickly into her drawer, and locked it.

 

"Riiight.” He said drawing out the word then turned to Regina, “So what's going on? What are you up to?"

 

"Well I just stopped by to say hello and bring Emma a hot chocolate and two be..."

 

"Yeah wasn't that nice of her, son, your Mom bringing me a nice hot chocolate?" Emma said quickly to interrupt Regina from disclosing what was in the bag.

 

The view in front of her was hilarious, both mother and son with their hands on their hips giving Emma the same look of disbelief. She started to chuckle and mumbled something about The Shining and twins but the Mills' didn't ask what she was on about. Instead, she filled Henry in on the festival that his grandmother wanted to throw.

 

"She is? Will she still have that dance thing at night do you think?"

 

"Probably," Emma muttered eying the desk drawer with the bear claw in it.

 

"Oh, she definitely will. That part of the festival is as close to a ball from the Enchanted Forest your grandmother can get. Though now she may go all the way and make it into a ball with the gowns and such this year with nothing really holding her back."

 

"Will you be going Mom?" Henry asked hopeful that now she is no longer mayor that she will still attend the town's festivities.

 

"Oh I don't know, Henry. I don't know if it would be a good idea..."

 

"Aw why not? Please Mom, maybe you could teach me to dance and we could show them our moves at the festival." Henry suggested.

 

Smiling at her son, "Of course My Prince, I can show you how to dance, but are you sure you want to dance with me at the festival?"

 

Emma had to hand it to their son; he sure knew how to get his Mom to do something miraculous.

 

"Sure, and maybe you can show Emma how to dance too!" He continued giving Emma a smirk.

 

"Hey I can dance...I got moves!"

 

"Of that I'm sure, Sherriff." Regina said giving Emma a smirk then realized what she's did. "Ahem, as amusing as this has been, I must get back to the office; the one day a week that I'm there, I'm neglecting my duties. I shall see you two for dinner at yours, Emma on Sunday?"

 

"Yeah, I'm going to try something new so I hope you like it."

 

"Sounds wonderful, I look forward to it." Regina said smiling then looked over to her son, "be good for Emma, Henry." And with that, she walked out the door and headed for the mayor's office.

 

They both waited until she had left the building before they looked at each other and quirked their brows.

 

"What do you have planned?" They said in unison.

 

Emma started, "So what was that with the dancing lessons?"

 

"Nothing, you know you don't know how to ballroom dance, Mom knows them all so she would be the perfect one to teach you."  Henry replied smiling, "Your turn."

 

"I'm up to nothing, I've got nothing planned." Emma replied nonchalantly.

 

"What's the new dish you're making on Sunday then?"

 

"I'm not tellin' it's a surprise."

 

~~~~~~~~~~

 

The Sunday night dinner was a surprise because Emma didn't know what she was going to make. She wanted to make Regina's favourite meal but didn't know what it was. She asked Snow but she knew by the answer that she had made a huge mistake. She didn't think roasted crane stuffed with fruits and nuts was Regina's favourite meal so she did what she should have done in the first place, asked Granny.  Her answer made sense and it was a dish she could make and enjoy. She just needed to find the perfect recipe and Cornish hens before the weekend.

 

Of course, the grocer didn't have any, so she would have to leave town to get the hens and a few other ingredients. As she was driving past the auto shop, she pulled up to the doors when she saw the motorcycle Michael was working on.

 

"Hey Michael, is that...Regina's bike?"

 

Surprised she knew about it he gave her a nod and went back to adjusting it. "This is hers, and it's a great bike but needs a few things. She hasn't ridden it in years, before she adopted Henry actually."

 

Emma whistled as she walked around the black beauty. “It’s a 1975 Gold wing, the GL1000? That's some bike she's got there."

 

"You know your bikes. Yup she's a beauty and with a few more parts I’ll have her up and running in no time."

 

"What parts do you need? I mean, I'm on my way out of town to get some things I could pick them up for you."

 

"Yeah? That would be great. I'll get you a list of things that I need. I'll be right back." Michael said as he went into his office to jot down the part numbers.

 

Emma walked around the bike sliding her hand over the seat and handles. "I can totally see Regina riding this. I bet it makes her feel like how she did when she rode Rocinante. I would love to see her ride this around town."

 

Michael came out of the office with paper in hand. "Thanks Emma, this is great!"

 

"Um does she have a helmet, did they even need one back then?" Emma asked wondering if Regina rode without one with her hair in the wind.

 

"She'll need one, the one she had before is all cracked and….." He trailed off seeing the woman in a daze, “Um Earth to Emma.”

 

"Huh? Sorry. I'll get one of those for her as well and I'll drop it all by when I get back."  Emma replied as she got back into her car and tried not to daydream about Regina in leather chaps and jacket cruising down the streets of Storybrooke on her bike. "Fuck me."


	4. Chapter 4

It was Sunday afternoon and Emma was busy in the kitchen cooking up dinner and Henry wanted to help but she wanted it to be a surprise and wouldn't let him in. Deciding he had enough of her nutty behaviour, he packed up some things into his backpack and went over to his mom's. When he arrived, he could smell baked goods and went inside quickly hoping for a treat before dinner.

 

"Hey Mom!"  Henry called out before the door slammed shut.

 

"Henry? What are you doing here?” Regina asked as she came out of the kitchen wearing her apple apron, wiping her hands in a towel.

 

"Emma is a nightmare in the kitchen when she doesn't want you in it so I came over here."

 

"A nightmare is she? What is she making?"

 

"I don't know! She wouldn't tell me. And I tried to go in the kitchen just for a snack and she wouldn't let me do that. I'm almost afraid of what she's making." Henry told her.

 

"I'm sure it will be great, I did give her my memories of how to cook, and thankfully she's kept those memories so far."

 

"True, thanks for that by the way. So what are you baking? It smells really good in here." Henry said with a smile.

 

"Well I made a turtle cheesecake as well as banana parfaits and there's an apple pie in the oven now but that's for here."

 

"Wow the cheesecake is Emma's favourite and the parfait is mine, thanks Mom!"  Henry exclaimed and hugged his mother, "If whatever Emma is making flops we'll at least have dessert."

 

"Henry!" Regina admonished her son, shaking her head at his sarcasm.

 

"Just joking Mom, I'm sure whatever she's making will be good too."

 

"Henry, why do you call her Emma again instead of Ma? It's been a long time since you called her by her name."  Regina asked hoping she wouldn't upset her son but she could see it in the woman's eyes how it hurt her to hear him call her Emma again.

 

"Um, I changed when she hurt your feelings. I was and still am a little mad at her about that. Why, did she say something to you?" Henry asked wondering if it bothered his other mom.

 

"No darling, she hasn't I just wondered that's all. Though, she and I seem to have move past that moment in time. Maybe when you're ready you could start calling her Ma again."

 

"Yeah I will, like you said, when I'm ready. I will Mom." He told her.

 

~~~~~~~~~~

 

"Oh Emma, dinner was amazing, stuffed Cornish hen is my favourite but the grocer never has them in stock here." Regina praised after eating the last bite of her dinner. "Mmm so good."

 

Emma was proud of herself hearing Regina's comments but when she moaned, it made her stomach feel like there were a thousand butterflies taking flight. Drawing a deep breath to calm herself she put down her fork and got up. "I'm so glad you liked it, it was the first time I have ever had Cornish hens. They’re actually pretty good."

 

"Did you know this was my favourite meal?" Regina asked wondering why Emma would try this if she’d never cooked it before.

 

"Um yes, I asked Granny and she told me and as you said, Mr. Hanlon didn't have any in stock so I went a few towns away and picked up some supplies."

 

"That was very sweet of you Emma; no one has gone to so much trouble for me, thank you." Regina said shyly looking down at her plate.

 

"Well just be glad that I went to Granny after hearing what Snow thought was your favourite meal." Emma replied as she took the dinner plates out to the kitchen. When she had first seen this house the kitchen and dining room was what sold it for her. It was nice to have a separate room to eat in and not just in front of the couch.

 

"Oh do tell what Snow thought was my favourite dish."  Regina called out from the dining room.

 

"Roasted crane stuffed with fruits and nuts." Emma called out.

 

The laugh that came from Regina startled Emma and the butterflies in her stomach decided they needed to fly around again. It had been a long time since she heard the woman laugh like that, if ever like that and she was glad that it was her that brought it on.

 

Gathering herself once again, Emma brought out the cheesecake and parfaits, "Henry can you bring the dessert plates please?"

 

Henry had been quiet through most of the dinner; he was watching his moms and seeing the old spark that was once there before. "Sure, I'll be right back."  Once he went into the kitchen, he took out his phone and texted, **_'SQ getting along, laughter and smiles.'_**

 

Since he was taking a little more time than normal, Emma came out to see if he needed help, "What's up Kid? You've been quiet all night. Are you feeling okay?"

 

"Yeah, yeah I'm good. It's just that tonight was like old times. You did really well tonight with dinner."

 

"Thanks, I sure tried my best and you're right it kinda feels like it did.  I hope it stays this way."

 

"Well I don't, I want it to be even better with you and Mom together."

 

"Henry, I know you want that, and I want that but your Mom needs to want that too and I'm not sure she's there yet." Emma tried to explain to him.

 

"I know, I know just keep doing things like this and she will. Now I'm going to eat my dessert in the family room to watch TV and to give you some alone time."

 

After rolling her eyes at her son, they made their way out to the dining room where Regina was still seated and enjoying another glass of wine. "Was it something I said? You both left to get plates, I was about to call in your parents to find you."

 

This time it was both mother and son who rolled their eyes at Regina and Henry continued on with two desserts in hand to go watch TV in the other room.

 

"This retired life really suits you and I'm glad because you seem happy." Emma said to her.

 

Regina smiled, "Thank you, I am finally, it's been a long time, but I feel like my old self before all the..."

 

"Crap that happened to you?" Emma finished for her.

 

Chuckling she lifted her glass towards Emma and tilted it in agreement and took another sip.

 

Clearing her throat, Regina put the glass down, placed her elbows on the table, and leaned closer to Emma. "When you said that you left town to get supplies for the meal am I to thank you for getting the parts for my bike? Michael said he wasn't able to get the parts and then he had them. I assume that it was you who did that?"

 

"Um yeah, Old Mrs. Hubbard told me you had a bike but hadn't ridden it in a long time. And with you retiring and doing fun things, I figured you might bring it out again. It's a very beautiful bike by the way, when I was heading out of town I saw Mike working on it and I stopped by."

 

"Yes good ol’ Mrs. Hubbard, she hated when I would take it out, it being 'too noisy and scandalous that a Mayor would even own something like that let alone ride it.'" Regina imitated the old lady with her best cockney accent.

Emma laughed heartily at that. She could hear the old bird say that and Regina mimicked her voice perfectly. "Oh I almost forgot something I'll be right back."

 

When Emma came back, there was a slice of cheesecake on her plate and Regina was eating one of the parfaits. Emma placed a beautifully wrapped box in the chair next to Regina. "This is a little something for you."

 

"Emma, what... you didn't have to get me anything. What is it?" Regina said shocked and surprised.

 

"You kinda have to open it if you want to know what's in it." Emma replied then took a bite of cheesecake and she was transported to heaven. She closed her eyes and with an ungodly sound, she moaned when she tasted the decadent dessert. "OH MY GOD this is the best cheesecake I have ever had."

 

Regina swallowed hard after hearing the moan from Emma.  Knowing that her face was turning red she looked at the box and started to open it. When she pulled the top off the box, she saw a black and purple helmet for the bike and on it was a silhouette of a horse. "Oh Emma, this is... this is beautiful but it's too much, you shouldn't have."  Regina said as she pulled the helmet out and looked at it then put it on. It fit perfectly and she loved it. 

 

"I wanted to get it for you, Mike said your old one was far too gone to use and I saw this and I knew you had to have it."

 

"I love it, I really do, thank you Emma, thank you so much."  Regina smiled and got up from her seat and stood next to Emma's chair and hugged her.

 

It was an awkward position but Emma would take it.  A hug from Regina was everything and she never wanted it to end.

 

Regina straightened up and went back to her seat putting the helmet back into the box.

 

"I...um...I also got one for Henry but I didn't tell him, I wasn't sure if you wanted him to ride it or anything." Emma mentioned as she bit her bottom lip hoping she didn't over step with Regina.

 

"Oh that's great, definitely not for the bike but it will work for the 4-wheeler at the cabin. He's been hinting at driving it when he gets up there."

 

"The 4-wheeler at the cabin?" Emma asked now knowing where Regina has been spending her time away.

 

"Yes it's where I've been going to get away so to speak. It's still here in Storybrooke but one cannot get to it by car. The jeep only goes so far then we have to go in by the 4-wheeler. It's an old model, I didn’t think Mr. Stillman could get it running again but he did. I think that if I'm going to stay there more often that I’ll have to get a new one."

 

"Wow, I didn't know you had a cabin but it makes sense that's where you've been going. Have you always had it? I mean did you put it in when you created the town?"

 

"Yes, I wanted somewhere to go to that was more like Regina Mills and not the Queen. If, if Daniel and I would've been able to run away then I imagine this would have been similar to the home we would have lived in. It's small and simple, rustic but I really do enjoy going there."

 

"Wow, that's great Regina, I'm glad you have that."  Emma said sincerely.

 

"Did you happen to buy another helmet say for you when you bought mine and Henry's?” Regina asked.

 

Emma turned three shades of red, she had hoped that with their friendship getting close to where it once was, she’d buy one for herself just in case Regina would either let her drive the bike or take her for a ride. She swallowed and tried not to look too embarrassed; Emma smiled sheepishly, nodded, and then put another forkful of cheesecake in her mouth.

 

"Good, maybe one day we can go for a ride." Regina offered and then ate another spoonful of parfait.

 

"Yeah that...that would great." Emma stuttered out looking at the brunette who was so beautiful at that moment. The smile Emma had been missing had returned and it was finally directed at her.

 

Henry had been listening in to the entire conversation and was texting Ruby the play by play and she was relaying it to the patrons of the Diner. With a pump of his hand, he whispered ‘YEAH!’ when he heard his Mom say she could take Emma out for a ride. With the last text, he quickly put his phone away and went back into the dining room hoping for another slice of cheesecake to celebrate.


	5. Chapter 5

With the Enchanted Summer Festival preparations going non-stop, Emma had finally lost the last marble she had. Her mother was a monster, long gone was the sweet woman who spoke with birds and shot rainbows out of her ass. No, now she was Ball-zilla. Regina was right when she said that Snow would try for a ball at the end of the festival and try she had. 

 

“I’m telling you Dad, the people of this town all want to push her over the town line.  No one in their right mind wants to dress up in frilly dresses with the petticoats and shit in this heat.”

 

“Emma, we never had air conditioning in the Enchanted Forest and women always wore those dresses as well as men wearing woolen uniforms. The heat really didn’t deter us.” David explained.

 

“Okay so maybe not the entire town, maybe just a few... okay, just me. She’s driving me crazy! Regina wasn’t this bad when she was mayor before the first curse ended.”

 

“Emma.  She just wants it to be special with memories of the old days before we came here.” Her father reminded her as he sat back in his chair. “And it doesn’t matter, Eleanor at the dress shop said there was no way she could get that many dresses made in time. She doesn’t have enough material anyway, so it’s just going to be a formal dance from this realm.”

 

“Yeah, yeah I know but she’s treating me as her personal lackey. I have a job here; I can’t be running around with posters or selling tickets. I haven’t seen Henry in days because if she doesn’t have me doing something she’s got him running around.” Emma ranted as she paced the area between her desk and her Dad’s. “Regina is the lucky one; she disappears to that cabin of hers!”

 

And therein lies the problem, David mused to himself. Since the preparation for the festival started, Regina has been 'busy' at the cabin, and hadn’t been around a lot lately. It was easy to see that the ex-mayor’s absence was taking a toll on his daughter. ‘If they would just stop being so damn stubborn and admit their feelings this would be so much better for all.’

 

“Well you know how your Mother and Regina are so opposite when it comes to these things, I think it was wise for her to steer clear, besides Kathryn is now in charge and keeping your Mother on her toes.” David told her.

 

“Yeah, I know. It’s just that Henry is going with her tomorrow for a couple of days so then I’ll have to do all the running around.” Emma grumbled something about not being invited but David didn’t quiet catch it.

 

“She does have a Festival committee who are helping, just tell her to give those jobs to someone else, she’ll understand, Emma.”

 

"I've tried and when I tell her that I'm busy she gives me that look, y'know the one I'm talking about cause you can't say no to her either." Emma gloated as she fell back in her chair.

 

Chuckling, her father nodded in agreement, "you're right, Emma she does get her way most of the time. And speaking of, I need to get going and check on the Dwarfs to see if they need help putting up the ballroom, I mean festival tent."

 

Emma glared at him and threw a wad of paper at him as he made his getaway. "Brat," she muttered to herself. She got up, took all the paper balls in the trash can, and piled them on her Dad's desk for his next shift. Standing back, she grinned as she admired the mess she had created, "that'll teach ya to mess with me!"

 

"Still hard at work I see, Sherriff?" Regina asked as she leaned casually against the doorway.

 

"Holy Shit, Regina you scared me!” Emma yelped as she jumped a foot off the floor, knocking a few paper balls off the desk.  "I...I didn't hear you come in."

 

"Obviously," She joked and then continued into the office to sits at Emma's desk.

 

"I guess you're a little quieter now since you're now sporting sneakers." She stated as she sized up the clothes Regina was wearing. Not her usual tight skirts or tailored suits, no today she was wearing blue jeans and a white t-shirt and to Emma she looked gorgeous.

 

Regina smirked at how red she turned while checking her out, "These are much more comfortable, but they're only for running errands and such. I will still wear heels; they tend to make my ass look great. Or so I 'm told."

 

Picturing just how great heels did make Regina’s ass looked Emma thinks she’s about to have a stroke. "Uh...uh...mm hmm they do, I mean you look great now with the sneakers but yeah, the heels. Yeah oh yeah, yup, you were told correctly, mm hmm." Emma rambled even though she was telling herself to shut the hell up.

 

"Thank you Sherriff, good to know."

 

Knowing that she was red as a beet, she tried to calm down a bit by running her hand through her hair and then leaned against her father's desk to keep a small distance between her and Regina. "So what brings you here today, Regina? I thought you were at the cabin."

 

"I was but I had to pick up a few things and I wanted to see how Kathryn was making out, I know how your mother can get when things are in full swing. And I know how our personalities clashed, I was hoping things between she and Kathryn would be better and more civil."

 

"I really don't know how you handled it, I mean I love Snow, she's my mom and she's caring and all but when she's in charge of stuff like this, she's a...a...MONSTER! I mean the mean chick on Game of Thrones would cower to her."

 

Regina laughed, a genuine laugh, and Emma began to swoon. "Your incorrigible, Emma, I know she can be a taskmaster because she wants things to be perfect. Unfortunately, for the town her perfection and mine are night and day. And I would 'handle it' with a lot of my cider after Henry went to bed of course."

 

Regina smiled and rested her chin on the palm of her hand as she looked up at the Sherriff quirking the side of her mouth. "I am assuming she's working you hard, making you too busy for sheriff duties?"

 

"Oh I can see you love this and yes she is Henry and I both, she's working us to the bone I tell ya!" Emma told her.

 

"I believe you; Henry said he was glad to get away for a couple of days to rest. He is very much your son when it comes to chores and such."

 

"Yeah he's been eager to see the changes you have been making since you started going there." Emma told her wondering what the brunette was actually doing at the cabin.

 

"Well it was just a small place but I've been adding a few things, changing it up a bit making it a little bigger."

 

"With magic? I mean of course with magic, but um you're not over doing it or anything, I mean if you need help or something you can ask I'm available, always. Just let me know and I'm there. Well, if I had a map or something, because I have no idea where it is. But like don't overdo it yeah?" Emma rambled.

 

"I won't, I know my limitations but thank you for the offer I'll keep that in mind." Regina said then got up from the chair. "I should get going, I need to speak with Kathryn and then pick up a few more groceries. I wouldn't want to run out of food with Henry there."

 

"Uh yeah sure, I don't want to keep you. Um...thanks for dropping by it was good to chat, it's not the same here without you." Emma said the last bit quietly but Regina heard her so before she went any further, she turned in the doorway and looked at Emma, "I've missed you too." and then she continued on her way leaving Emma smiling like the idiot she is known to be.

 

~~~~~~~~~~

 

Henry was beaming when his Mom let him drive the 4-wheeler to the cabin. He made sure he took his time, because it would be his last if he tried anything with his Mom riding with him. Once they came through to the clearing, he stopped and gasped at what his Mom has done since he was here a couple of weeks ago. "Wow, Mom this looks great."

"Do you like it? I wanted to make it a little bigger giving us each a bedroom and a spare room if you want to invite a friend or two sometime."

 

"It's awesome, Mom!" Henry gushed, what was once a one story cabin was now a two story log cabin with ceiling to floor windows and a large wrap around patio that looked out onto the lake.

 

"Well, wait until you see the inside before you make up your mind and take your bags with you." Regina called out to her son making him stop in his tracks and come back to help take the groceries and overnight bags in with them.

 

"Our rooms are upstairs now? That's so cool! And whoa..." Henry stopped and looked back at his Mom with a smirk, "Nice kitchen Mom."  What was once a stove and sink with a small counter; was now a gourmet kitchen with stainless steel appliances and granite countertops.

 

"Well with the way you and Emma eat I needed the space and the appliances to cook enough for you both."

 

Henry had his back to his Mom when she mentioned Emma; he smiled but hid it when he turned back around. "It's great, so what's for lunch? I'm starved!"

 

Once Henry had toured the new place and had lunch with his Mom, he went outside for a swim in the lake. It was really nice and he loved getting away but it would be so much better if both of his moms were here. After being told a hundred times to put more sun block on, he decided it was time to get out and maybe have a snack.

 

"Mom, even though Grandma didn't get the old fashioned ball that she wanted, will you still show me how to dance?"

 

"Of course Sweetie, do you want to do that now? I can put on some music that I'm sure your grandmother will have at the dance."

 

"Okay cool, what do I have to do?"

 

After about two or three songs from the old land (Beethoven and Mozart really), Henry begged for better music and said he would only dance to the modern stuff. Once she played the so called better music he began to enjoy learning to dance. He didn't do too badly, a few of her toes were stepped on, but he did get it after a while. Enough that he'll impress the ladies should he ask them to dance, Regina thought.

 

When he had enough he went upstairs to get some comics to read, Regina was going to start dinner but it was a little too early so she poured herself a glass of wine and went to sit outside. Thinking about how hard Henry tried not to step on her toes and would apologize every time he did made her think of Emma, and that she should have been there to witness it and even joined in.

 

When she was leaving the Sherriff's office the day before, she almost invited Emma up to the cabin but didn't because it felt a little too soon but now she regrets it and wished that she had invited her. She didn't really know what to think of Emma, it had been a number of weeks since she asked her out on a date and well yeah that, but she has been trying, it seemed, to make it up to her by doing thoughtful things and giving her the time and space she requested.

 

She had always liked Emma and slowly started having feelings for her but never thought Emma felt the same, it was a shock to overhear the diners talking to Henry about them as if they were already together. First, it angered her but as she listened, she started to smile because Henry was all for it but was adamant that they were not dating. When she shocked them all by coming out from the restrooms a pin could be heard dropping, the diner was so quiet. She almost went into a rage just for the hell of it but looking at their faces, she started to laugh.

 

It was startling to know how so many people, who once hated her and she them, were now friends, acquaintances? Whatever they are, they want what was best for her. They all want her to be happy because she deserves it. How far they all had come, she thought and sat down with her son and listened to their reasons as to why she should ask Emma out.

 

"Hey Mom, can we go for a hike before dinner?"  Henry called out, rousing her from her thoughts.

 

“Of course, I'll be right in. Put on your boots, sneakers won't be good enough in these woods." She called back to him.

 

~~~~~~~~~

 

The Annual Enchanted Summer Festival was in full swing and Snow was a walking mess, on little to no sleep, as she was making sure everyone was doing their jobs at the booths and games. She checked to see if there was enough food and drink and just making sure the people were having a good time. Emma tried to steer clear of her Mom whenever possible though she didn't need too many excuses when Granny started selling her homebrew in the evenings at the Diner's outdoor booth. Once Leroy got a hold of that, it was all over.

 

It was the day of the formal dance and Emma was coming off the night shift with puke on her boots and other places she really didn't want to how it got there now all she wanted to do was sleep. Leroy got into a brawl the last two nights and she had given both him and Granny warnings about fighting. Now Henry was home with his music blaring practicing his dance moves and she needed to let him know to knock it off so she could sleep. And if there was a God that would allow her to sleep all day and night and miss this dance she would honour them forever.

 

"Henry, c'mom I need to sleep, why don't you go over to your Mom's and practice!" Emma yelled out to him.

 

"She's not home; she went back to the cabin after she brought me home."  Henry yelled back then turned off his music. A tired Emma was bad enough but a tired and grumpy Emma was REALLY bad.

 

Emma came out of her room and went into Henry's, "She's not coming to the dance tonight?"

 

"I don't know, I think so, she promised me a dance but we practiced a lot last week so maybe she won't."

 

"Well this makes the dance suck that much more," Emma grumbled as she went back to her room and flopped on her bed falling asleep instantly.

 

Regina came back late afternoon of the dance, muddy from planting in her new garden she started last week. She could have used magic but she liked tilling the soil and planting the seeds and plants herself. She found it relaxing and she liked that something she planted would grow into something wonderful.

 

As she stepped out of the jeep, she found Mrs. Hubbard standing just behind the vehicle.

 

"Good day Mrs. Hubbard, how are you?"

 

"Oh I'm fine Madam Mayor, but I daresay that you look as if you’ve just come from a mud wrestling match."

 

"Not quite, I was just planting some vegetables in the garden. And it's just Regina now; I'm no longer the mayor.” She corrected her.

 

"Oh that's right, Midas' daughter is now the mayor, I'm sure she'll do as well as expected."

 

Regina smiled her fake political smile and gestured towards her door, "Would you like to come in for something to drink, Mrs. Hubbard?"

 

"Oh thank you Dear, but no. I just wanted to know something."  The old lady replied and then squinted her eyes at Regina as if she was trying to figure out something.

 

"Oh? And what is that you want to know?" Regina wanted to end this conversation as quickly as she could, she didn't mind the old lady, but sometimes she could be a real battle-axe.

 

"Well you know I am not one for idle gossip," Mrs. Hubbard began and Regina did all she could not to roll her eyes because the ol' biddy was the biggest gossip in the town. "But I did hear a while back that you had asked the Sheriff out on a date and she in her way I suppose declined your offer."

Regina was gritting her teeth trying not to conjure a fire ball and throw it at the woman. Taking a deep breath, she plastered on another smile. "Something like that yes," was Regina's reply.

 

"Well, what I would like to know is, when are you going to pull your head out of your ass and ask the Sherriff on a date again?" She asked.

 

Regina was stunned? Offended? Surprised? Astounded? Yes, she was all of those things and more. She really didn't know what to say or how to reply, all she could do was stand there with her mouth wide opened, blinking her eyes.

 

Mrs. Hubbard started to chuckle. She'd never seen the ex-mayor speechless let alone stunned. "My dear girl, close your mouth before you catch flies."

 

Regina did as she was told and closed her mouth but still stood still not knowing what to say or do.

 

"You must have been terribly hurt with the Sherriff's actions and I'm sure quite embarrassed but you love the girl and it's obvious she loves you by the way she looks at you. And to be honest, you two have been dating for months; you just didn't put a name to it. So what are you waiting for? You know that she won't ask you now so it's up to you to as I said pull your..."

 

"Yes, yes I understand, you really don't need to repeat it, thank you." Regina interrupted the old lady before she started spouting off more vulgarity.

 

"Well, then tell me Regina, when are you going to ask Emma out on a date?" Mrs. Hubbard pressed.

 

"I...well I don't think she...wait, did you say that she loves me?" Regina asked now that her mind had caught up with her hearing.

 

"Yes dear, it's as clear as day as it is with you. So my advice to you is, besides what I said earlier, is to forget the past, live your present and plan your future. You've wasted enough time; your life long mate has been here with you since the night she arrived all those years ago."

 

"I...but she and I... we were never..." Regina stammered feeling as if she was being reprimanded by an old school teacher.

 

"That's all right; it's not me you have to talk to, thankfully. I do hope when you next see the Sherriff you will be able to express yourself better." Mrs. Hubbard told her.

 

Watching the puzzled brunette, the old lady knew she had done what she needed and could go and let Regina think about things now.

 

"I'll let you go now Regina, I need to get ready for the dance. I want to get there early so I can get my hands on Marco before Granny does." Mrs. Hubbard said, then put her hands on Regina's shoulders, turned her around, and pushed her towards her door. "Good day Dear."

 

When Mrs. Hubbard got inside her home, she pulled out her phone and texted Ruby,

**_'the seed is planted, she's good to go.'_ **

**_'shuda seen her face-worth a mil' - H_ **

 

~~~~~~~~~~

 

The dance was in full swing by the time Regina arrived. Wearing a black satin evening dress with a beaded V neck and a low back long formal gown with a high slit. She made her way into the festival tent which has been set up as a dance hall with tables and seating along the sides. She was first greeted by David and Snow.

 

"Oh Regina, you look beautiful, that dress is perfect for you."  Snow gushed after she gave her former nemesis a hug in greeting.

 

"Thank you Snow, you look beautiful as well, very regal, very becoming." Regina replied "And of course you look handsome David, nice to see you this evening."

 

"And you Regina, you look lovely."

 

After a few moments of chit chat with the Charmings, Regina needed a drink and walked over to the bar. Once she had her glass of wine, she turned towards the dance floor looking out into the crowd and seeing her son dancing to a fast song with both Ava and Paige. Smiling, she could see how much her son had grown and what a sweet young man he had become.

 

A motion to her left caught her attention and as she turned her head she stopped breathing, there in the corner was Emma, wearing a sky blue shear, sequined sleeveless gown. It was beautiful she was beautiful. Taking a deep breath, Regina made her way through the crowd, towards Emma not stopping to say hello to anyone.

 

"Good evening, Miss Swan, you look stunning."

 

"Why thank you Miss Mills, you, you look beautiful." Emma replied once she could breathe again. When she saw Regina, walking towards her she felt those damn butterflies take flight again. Now that she was here, she couldn't stop looking at her.

 

Regina was nervous, she didn’t know what to say or do, and was looking around the dance floor where she saw Mrs. Hubbard and Marco dancing.

 

“Are you all right?” Emma asked noticing Regina’s expression had changed.

 

“I had quite the conversation this afternoon with Mrs. Hubbard.” Regina began as she tilted her wine glass towards the woman on the dance floor.

 

“With Old Lady Hubbard? That must have been interesting?” Emma replied chuckling.

 

“Oh there is not enough alcohol at these festivities to get me to repeat it.” Regina grimaced and then turned to Emma and took her hand.

 

“Do you think we could go outside and talk? It’s a little noisy in here.” Regina asked motioning to the tie-down door beside them.

 

“Yeah sure, okay c’mon,” Emma replied as she reluctantly took her hand away, pulled open the door for Regina and followed her out.

 

Once they were outside, Regina walked over towards a bench and sat down gesturing for Emma to sit as well. 

 

“I need to apologize to you, Emma.” Regina began trying to calm her nerves she took in a breath.

 

“You do?”

 

“I do. When you laughed at me that morning, I was hurt and embarrassed, and you know how well I handle my emotions, not well and you did come by to apologize but I wouldn’t hear you because I wanted to forget that it happened. I tried to ignore it and you and I was wrong.”

 

“Hey, it's okay, Regina, really.” Emma started but Regina stopped her by placing her hand on her arm.

 

“It’s not okay Emma, I should have been an adult and sat down with you and talked, allowed you to explain but I didn’t and I am truly very sorry for that.” Regina continued never taking her hand away from Emma’s arm.

 

“I ran away from it and you to the cabin and I spent all of my time in fixing things there instead of fixing things here with you.  I was working so hard on the cabin trying to make it perfect but I realized that it wasn’t perfect because something was missing.”

 

Emma looked up at her then, “what was missing?”

 

“You,” Regina said softly looking into Emma’s eyes.  “When Henry was up last week, I was glad that he liked the changes I made and I was pretty pleased with the upgrades myself but it wasn’t quite right because you weren’t there to see it. And when he wanted me to show him how to dance it was wonderful but you should have been there with us and then it would have been perfect.”

 

The smile on Emma’s face was breathtaking and Regina had all that she could do to not kiss her right there and then.

 

“I’m getting a little ahead of myself here. I suppose there’s something that I need to do, to do again actually and I hope that your answer is a little different than last time.”

 

Emma was full on grinning now, trying not to chuckle or laugh because she knew the brunette would fireball her ass.

 

 Regina took Emma’s hands into hers and stood up taking Emma with her. “Emma, would you do me the honour of accompanying me on a date?”

 

Smiling Emma brought one of Regina’s hands up to her lips and kissed it, “I would love to go out with you, Regina yes!”

 

Regina didn’t hold back then, she loved this woman and wanted to kiss her and so she did.

 

Unbeknownst to them, the townspeople inside were all gathered at the doorways and windows keeping an eye on the couple and when they kissed there was a chorus of “Aww’s.”

 

The couple broke the kiss when Regina started to laugh. "So who's laughing now?" Emma asked with a raised eyebrow.

 

"I'm not laughing at you, just at them." Regina replied then turned to the watching crowd who quickly turned away and went back to the dance leaving the two lovebirds to themselves.

 

"So when are we going on this date?"

 

"In due time, Miss Swan, in due time but for now, I would like to resume what we were doing before." Regina replied as she placed her arms around Emma’s neck, pulled her closer, and kissed her once more.

 


	6. Final Chapter

**Chapter 6**

The persistent knocking on her bedroom door woke Emma the following morning. Shaking the cobwebs from her brain, she smiled remembering the kiss, correction, kisses she and Regina shared at the dance and in the car when Regina brought her home and at the doorway.

 

_It was all they could do to not continue the kissing inside Emma's house, in Emma's bedroom but Regina said that they would go on a date first before they took the next step._

_"Okay, let's go on a date right now!" Emma implored while Regina rolled her eyes._

_"Emma, the date will be tomorrow that is if you're free."_

_"Oh I'm free! I'm free!"_

_Chuckling now at her soon to be girlfriend, "I thought that we, as in you and I, would go to the cabin for the weekend to have our overdue date. We can go for a swim in the lake, I can make us dinner, and then we can watch movies. How does that sound?" Regina asked with a smile._

_"Sounds wonderful, I'm in!"_

_"Good, now I will say goodnight and I'll be picking you up by ten o'clock sharp. Be ready or I won't wait for you."  Regina ordered with a smirk then gave Emma another quick kiss goodnight and went back to her car._

_Emma continued to watch as the car drove away with a huge smile on her face then started to dance around the living room singing. "I'm going on a date with Regina! I'm going on a date with Regina."_

 

“Okay, Okay I'm UP! What do you want?" Emma yelled out.

 

"MA! Get up! Mom will be here any minute! You overslept!"  Henry called out in a panic; he just arrived home with his grandparents who kept him the night before.

 

"What?" Emma said then looked over to the clock which read 9:25 am. "Oh shit! SHIT, SHIT, SHIT!"

 

"Okay, I'm getting ready!" Emma called out then quickly ran to her closet, took out her overnight bag, and started to throw clothes in. She then sprinted to the bathroom where she quickly showered and made sure to shave everything and washed her hair. "Damn it! Fuck, I got soap in my eyes! Ow fuck!"

 

"Honey, are you okay in there?" Snow called out after hearing her daughter's colourful language downstairs.

 

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine! I'm fine." Emma replied as she dried herself and ran back to her bedroom.

 

With five minutes to spare, Emma walked down the steps with bag in hand, but stopped abruptly when she saw the living room full of people.

 

"What the hell is going on? Oh God, please don't tell me an Ogre is attacking the town or something." Emma asked as she looked over to her parents then to Ruby, Kathryn, Grumpy, Nova, and Henry, 3 other dwarfs and Archie, Pongo and... Mrs. Hubbard?

 

"No Emma, we all just wanted to make sure that you got off, I mean um went on your date with Regina, y'know. To make sure you didn't do something to piss her off and cancel again." Ruby tried to explain.

 

"What? I know I screwed up the last time but I do know how to date, I'm a grown ass woman!  You all need to leave right now!" Emma ordered them.

 

"But Honey, we just wanted to see you off." Snow spoke trying to placate her daughter. "We're just here for moral support."

 

"Moral support?  I don't need moral support; I need you all to leave like right now. GO! All of you out!" Emma said as she walked to the front door and opened it quickly only to see Regina with her hand out ready to ring the doorbell.

 

"Good morning, Miss Swan, were you throwing a party so early in the morning or is this continuing from last night after I dropped you off?"

 

"Good morning Regina and to answer your question, it's neither.  The people of this town thought it would be nice to see us off this morning so it would go without a hitch it seems."  Emma replied gritting her teeth as she looked back at her mom and ex best friend Ruby.

 

Emma took a deep breath to steel herself waiting for Regina to fly off the handle and fireball everyone's ass but instead all she heard was a chuckle and then laughter coming from the ex mayor.

 

"You're laughing? Why are you laughing? I was waiting for fireballs." Emma asked surprised and a little disappointed.

 

"It's funny Emma, look at them." Regina replied then looked over at the people who had started to become friends to her. "And I think it's sweet."

 

Regina then gave Kathryn a look letting her know enough was enough and it didn't take long for the crowd to leave the house leaving Henry, Snow, and David.

 

"Even with all of that are you ready to go?" Regina asked Emma.

 

"Wha...oh yeah. How did you do that? I asked them all to leave and they just stood there."

 

Chuckling Regina got closer to Emma and gave her a kiss, "Good morning Emma."

 

"G...good morning."

 

"Now are you ready to go? I would like to leave before more people decide to show up." Regina said to her.

 

"Oh yeah I'm ready! Let's go!"

"Kathryn and Henry have all the information of where we are and how to get a hold of us just in case there is an emergency." Regina told Snow and David then she glared at them and added, “And only use that information if there’s a real emergency.

 

It took a few more minutes to get Snow and David to leave with their son, but it was finally time to get on the road. "Thank God they're all gone." Emma muttered as she jumped into the jeep.

 

"Was that Mrs. Hubbard that I saw sitting between Sleepy and Dopey?" Regina asked then chuckled at her own question as she pulled out of the driveway.

 

"It was and yes it was funny too but annoying as hell. I know I messed it up the first time but I wasn't going to this morning." Emma told her.

 

"Did you oversleep?" Regina asked.

 

"Well okay maybe I almost messed up but I was ready but I didn't have break..." Emma started then stopped as Regina handed her a brown paper bag from beside her.

 

"I thought as much so I picked up breakfast at the Diner, Granny gave me the heads up as to what I would see when I picked you up. I just didn't realize how many people would actually be there."

 

"Thank you. That was really sweet of you and lucky for you to have the heads up. I almost fell down the steps when I saw everyone there." Emma told her.

 

They talked all the way to the cabin, and when they packed up and jumped on the 4-wheeler, Emma was at a loss of words when the cabin came into view.  When they stopped, Emma took off her helmet and gasped as she took in the cabin. "Oh my God, Regina this, this is beautiful." 

 

Regina took off her own helmet and looked over at Emma, "Thank you. As I said, I made a few upgrades to the original cabin. C'mon bring in some bags and I'll show you the inside."

 

After showing Emma around and putting their things in the bedroom, Regina went down to the kitchen and brought out a few things for a light lunch.  "I thought snack-like food would be nice for lunch since you just ate your breakfast and then we can go for a dip in the lake or go for a hike, whichever like."

 

"Yeah sounds great, maybe a small hike then the lake so we can cool off?" Emma suggested and grabbed some crackers and cheese from the counter.

 

"I like that. Maybe we can take this with us and have a small picnic in a clearing I saw on one of my previous hikes."

 

~~~~~~~~~~

 

After their hike, they went into their rooms to change into their swimwear. Regina emerged first and called out that she would see Emma outside.  It wasn't long before Emma was walking through the cabin and saw Regina making her way down a small set of steps that lead to the lake. She was wearing a barely there deep red bikini and it almost knocked Emma off her feet. Looking down at her one piece bathing suit, she ran back upstairs to change into her own blue bikini.

After she changed, Emma went outside to where she saw Regina walk into the lake but didn't see her anywhere. Calling out she still didn't see or hear her. She was getting a little worried when all of a sudden Regina popped up from underwater and slowly swam towards Emma. And when she was close enough, she stood and walked the rest of the way and Emma's mouth went dry.

 

"You...you look, you are gorgeous Regina." Emma sputtered, not sure if her knees would keep her up the closer Regina got to her.

 

"You look absolutely scrumptious Miss Swan," Regina replied as she slid her wet hand up Emma's arm reaching the tie to her bikini strap eliciting goose bumps on the blond. "So scrumptious that I don't believe I can wait until after dinner or a movie."

 

"I...that's...yeah me either." Emma replied as she felt the ties fall down over her shoulder.

 

"This is not what I had planned, Emma, are you sure because we can wai..." Regina began but Emma cut her off with a searing kiss then finished taking off her bikini top. "I'm ready, I want this, and I want you Regina, so badly."

 

Regina's heart stopped when Emma's top slid to the ground. And hearing the younger woman tell her how much she wanted her gave Regina the courage to move on from the hurt and embarrassment she had felt and especially the loneliness. She had everything she ever wanted right here in front of her waiting for her, wanting her and she wasn’t not to wait any longer.

 

~~~~~~~~~~

 

The twilight sky filled with orange and pink when the ladies came down from the bedroom, Regina was in the kitchen making a quick dinner while Emma was outside taking in the view but couldn't keep her eyes off Regina who was wearing a long white shirt over her underwear, and Emma had never seen her  looked more beautiful.

 

As dinner was cooking, Regina came out to the patio with a bottle of wine and two glasses.  Pouring one out for each of them, Regina handed a glass to Emma. "I guess I'm not very good with the dating thing. We never really went on one or had the cliché dinner and a movie before having sex."

 

Chuckling, Emma took a sip of her wine then put it on the railing then took Regina's glass and set it down as well before wrapping her arms around Regina's waist.

 

"We’re not the kind of people to be cliché about anything, don't you think?" Emma asked then placed a small kiss beneath Regina's right ear. "I mean we already share a child." Emma continued placing a kiss beneath Regina's left ear. "And one would think the last few months before the 'incident' we were kinda dating then, at least the townsfolk thought we were." Emma started to kiss Regina's neck.

 

"Mm hmm tr...true."

 

"So, I think having sex before dinner and a movie is par for the course when it comes to us." Emma continued her ministrations pushing Regina's shirt open and kissing just above her breast. But before she could continue the smoke alarms began to blare, making both women jump.

 

"Oh shit, dinner!" Regina yelped and ran into the cabin then quickly turned off the oven and opened a window.

 

Emma was standing in the doorway of the patio laughing at the sight. "See, there is nothing clichéd about us and our date."

 

Regina looked back at Emma and was going to give her a piece of her mind but thinking about it, she started to laugh as well.

~~~~~~~~~~

 

It was a short while later when Regina was able to make something quick to eat and took it out to the patio, the kitchen still smelling a little bit like smoke. Emma had set up the small outdoor table with plates and glasses and even a candle.

 

Both women were quiet while they ate, now settled back in their chairs with a glass of wine watching the sun set. Emma thought the view was beautiful both out over the lake and next to her. She reached over and took Regina's hand. "Thank you for today, for having me here. It's been wonderful, more than that it has been incredible, you're incredible."

 

Regina smiled and pulled Emma closer and kissed her, "Thank you for agreeing to go out on a date with me. Even though I think I still owe you a real date."

 

"This is real to me; this is the best date I've ever been on." Emma replied then kissed Regina again.

 

"Really? Because I feel bad for wasting so much time when I wouldn't listen to you explain or apologize. We could have had many dates by now and I'm very sorry about that. I'm not very good when it comes to relationships and I started this one off trying to ignore you."

 

"Regina, it's okay, I hurt you by my actions you had every right to be angry with me and not want to try again. I didn't help by smothering you, I wanted to fix it, but I went about it all wrong.  And when that was pointed out to me, I did what I could to get us back on track and that's where we are now. We're back on track; let the past be the past and this be our new beginning, okay?"

 

"Okay, I like that, our new beginning." Regina replied as she stroked Emma's hand.

 

She looked out over the lake, it was almost dark now, "When I included the cabin with the curse I thought about Daniel and I and what we would have lived in back in the Enchanted Forest had we gotten away from my mother." Regina began, "With the upgrades I thought about Henry and me and...you.  I wanted this to be a place for us as a family. We hadn't officially gone out yet and here I was building this place for us. How's that for skipping a few steps?"

 

Regina smiled at that then added, "I don't know what will happen with us tomorrow or the next day or next week but I want us to be a family together, the three of us. I don't know if that's what you want now or ever but I've never felt this way for anyone in a very long time.  When you came to town bringing Henry home, I thought you were going to break me, be the end of me but in the end you fixed me when I was so very broken, Emma and I can't thank you enough for that."

 

"Regina….." Emma started to say but Regina stopped her.

“Please just let me say this.” Regina pleaded then continued, “We've had so many ups and downs and in betweens and no one has ever made me feel the things that you do, no one."

 

Regina paused with a smile, "I love you Emma, I love you so very much."

 

With tears running down her cheek as she listened to Regina, Emma couldn't speak; the only thing she could do was stand up and walk over to Regina before pulling her up and into her arms.

 

"I love you too Regina. We were both at one time broken but together we're unbreakable, strong and nothing and no one will ever change that." Emma said softly and then kissed Regina with every ounce of love she had.

 

"I love you too Regina. We were both at one time broken but together we're unbreakable, strong and nothing and no one will ever change that." Emma said softly and then kissed Regina with every ounce of love she had.

 

"Mmm maybe we should take this somewhere else, things seem to be getting a little hot under the collar here.”

 

"Y'know, I never did get in the lake earlier. Someone was too eager to get me out of my bikini before I could go for a swim." Emma said with a smile.

 

"That is true, what... what are you doing? EMMA? EMMA!" Regina squealed as Emma picked her up in a fireman's carry and walked down towards the lake.

 

"Emma put me down! Emma!"

 

Before she knew it, Emma flung her into the water and followed quickly after her.

 

As they both pop up from under the water, Regina pulled Emma close to her. "I love you, Miss Swan, but if you ever do that again..."

 

"I love you too Ms. Mills now and always."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all once again for taking the time to read my little story and for the comments and kudos. And thanks to Jokerssmile for sending me the song and editing and making me add this last chapter to tie it up with a nice little bow.


End file.
